When the pandemic kept folks away from in-person services, churches around the nation took to streaming their Masses online. Pandemic restrictions have been loosened, but there are still quite a few churches that continue to stream their Masses for the benefit of those who cannot attend for various reasons. Now a new website is helping the faithful to navigate this abundance of virtual services, and it offers a lot of neat features to help them engage in the online medium.
Stream Church is a new website that seeks to “bridge the gap between people and church” in the modern age. Its immense database of some 10,000 Christian churches is easy to explore thanks to a thorough search bar that allows users to filter by denomination, location, senior pastor, doctrinal beliefs, or social viewpoints.
In our exploration of Stream Church, we discovered more than 100 Catholic churches that offer weekly streams. The streams can be freely viewed without an account, but it’s worth signing up for several bonus features. The site allows members to save and share their favorite churches and sermons, and even allows users to take notes on each service. These are then saved to their account for future reference.
Furthermore, an interactive Bible is provided beside each stream, with a search function that allows users to find and follow along with readings of the Mass. Membership to Stream Church is free and only requires an email address.
Stream Church boasts an enormous database that includes services streamed in 17 languages and 39 denominations, spread across all 50 states. Even if you cannot find a church near you, there are plenty of options to choose from to find a faithful virtual Mass experience to suit many different needs. They also note that they are continuing to evolve and develop this database, with the goal of encompassing all streaming US churches before they’re finished.
The website further notes that their platform exclusively hosts church services, and precludes cultural, social or political content. The organizers wrote:
“No matter what page you go to on our site you know that you are visiting church. That’s it; no other content is published, no other agenda is pushed. We exist to help you know God through hearing the Word at church.”
